Karachi
Posted May 9th, 2009 at 08:42 PM by thejoke
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]Back in Karachi I was and there was no other place I would rather be when sick. I had diarrhoea and a pain in my leg. I had no explanation why I had either of them but I was not going to let them get in the way of fun. Karachi was a good place to be when needing to go to the toilet so regularly. There were plenty of public toilets here in restaurants and cafes. I had no timetable as such other than meeting friends and exploring the chic urban side of upmarket Karachi.[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]Staying in Keamari was fun but not the nicest place to stay. It is not an affluent neighbourhood and one of the dirtiest I had ever seen. Residents would obviously throw their rubbish out onto the street. Some of it would eventually rot and others just slowly pile up. Cleanliness was a big part of Islam yet these people really had no idea. Did they really find it that much of a problem keeping clean? I had never really liked Keamari as I found it crowded and congested although I had a good friend there and his friend was amazingly clean. At times I felt we were walled in as tall buildings loomed over us. I remember mentioning to a friend of a friend back in 2002 I was staying in Keamari and he was mortified. “What are you doing in Keamari?” He was from Defence Housing Authority, where most of the well-to-do lived. Most rich people would generally avoid the poor areas. Pakistan’s elite had its own education system, healthy care and hospitals, residential areas too name but a few. [/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]I decided to visit the Frere Hall, named after Sir Henry Bartle Edward Frere who lived from 1815-1884 and known for promoting economic development tin Karachi. I realised the security around here was tight because the US Consulate was close by. I had to walk around to access it and it was not a pleasant experience because it was very hot too. Construction started in 1863 and it was opened in 1865. Built in the Venetian Gothic style with yellowish Karachi limestone and red and grey sandstones. During the days of the British Raj it served as a town hall. The building and the gardens are well-preserved and one of the many Anglo influenced buildings in Karachi. [/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]Next on thelist was the Jehangir Khotari Parade in Clifton. The pier is over a quarter of a mile long and was opened in 1920. There is a pavilion and a bandstand. I walked down and saw that there were flowers everywhere. The parade has been cleaned up and a garden of flowers everywhere. The beach had been cleaned up too. There was much less litter. About time too, This was one of Karachi’s most popular recreational spots espcially in the summer. People would come here later afternoon to relax and feel the sea breeze. I was offered a camel and horse ride but was not in the mood for it. [/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]I walked back to the main road and then decided to head to the Zam Zama Boulevard to check out what the hip crowd were up too. I was hungry so I jumped into a Subway sandwich shop. A group of young girls and guys met up, all dressed in the latest western clothes. They all hugged each other. In most areas of Karachi adolescents of the opposite gender hugging was frowned upon. Some of the girls wore clothes which would not be tolerated outside of the affluent suburbs of Clifton and Defence. Quite a few women drove up to the outlet and came in. [/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]The next few days I spent wandering around Karachi. I really enjoyed walking around modern shopping centres such as Park Towers, the Dolman centre or even the bazaars off Tariq Road. I enjoyed trying out the chic eateries in Defence and Clifton. Some of the cafes were nothing like you would expect to see in Pakistan. They were very arty-farty. The deco was very mod-con and minimalistic but based on a traditioal design. Occasionally I would spend the late afternoons at the Native Jetty bridge, locally known as “Netty Jetty” watching the people feed the fish in the river below. The brdige was built in the British times and linked Keamari with the city. People would come here and throw dough into the water to feed the fish for blessings. It was a ritual practised reguarly by some people. The Kites which soared over the city waiting to scavenge would descend and dive after the dough. Although Kites were birds of prey, they would eat anything. They would compete with the Gulls and Crows and even pirate food off them. They would most often eat the food on the wing, sometimes chased by others. They were magnificent flyers and to see them dive, swerve, chase with such agility as an experience. [/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]I did not enjoy the evenings staying in Keamari as there was not much to do there and I felt as if I was walled in. Some people had built very tall houses and flats, blocking the sunlight and creating a claustrophobic walled atmosphere.[/FONT][/SIZE]
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[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]Staying in Keamari was fun but not the nicest place to stay. It is not an affluent neighbourhood and one of the dirtiest I had ever seen. Residents would obviously throw their rubbish out onto the street. Some of it would eventually rot and others just slowly pile up. Cleanliness was a big part of Islam yet these people really had no idea. Did they really find it that much of a problem keeping clean? I had never really liked Keamari as I found it crowded and congested although I had a good friend there and his friend was amazingly clean. At times I felt we were walled in as tall buildings loomed over us. I remember mentioning to a friend of a friend back in 2002 I was staying in Keamari and he was mortified. “What are you doing in Keamari?” He was from Defence Housing Authority, where most of the well-to-do lived. Most rich people would generally avoid the poor areas. Pakistan’s elite had its own education system, healthy care and hospitals, residential areas too name but a few. [/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]I decided to visit the Frere Hall, named after Sir Henry Bartle Edward Frere who lived from 1815-1884 and known for promoting economic development tin Karachi. I realised the security around here was tight because the US Consulate was close by. I had to walk around to access it and it was not a pleasant experience because it was very hot too. Construction started in 1863 and it was opened in 1865. Built in the Venetian Gothic style with yellowish Karachi limestone and red and grey sandstones. During the days of the British Raj it served as a town hall. The building and the gardens are well-preserved and one of the many Anglo influenced buildings in Karachi. [/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]Next on thelist was the Jehangir Khotari Parade in Clifton. The pier is over a quarter of a mile long and was opened in 1920. There is a pavilion and a bandstand. I walked down and saw that there were flowers everywhere. The parade has been cleaned up and a garden of flowers everywhere. The beach had been cleaned up too. There was much less litter. About time too, This was one of Karachi’s most popular recreational spots espcially in the summer. People would come here later afternoon to relax and feel the sea breeze. I was offered a camel and horse ride but was not in the mood for it. [/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]I walked back to the main road and then decided to head to the Zam Zama Boulevard to check out what the hip crowd were up too. I was hungry so I jumped into a Subway sandwich shop. A group of young girls and guys met up, all dressed in the latest western clothes. They all hugged each other. In most areas of Karachi adolescents of the opposite gender hugging was frowned upon. Some of the girls wore clothes which would not be tolerated outside of the affluent suburbs of Clifton and Defence. Quite a few women drove up to the outlet and came in. [/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]The next few days I spent wandering around Karachi. I really enjoyed walking around modern shopping centres such as Park Towers, the Dolman centre or even the bazaars off Tariq Road. I enjoyed trying out the chic eateries in Defence and Clifton. Some of the cafes were nothing like you would expect to see in Pakistan. They were very arty-farty. The deco was very mod-con and minimalistic but based on a traditioal design. Occasionally I would spend the late afternoons at the Native Jetty bridge, locally known as “Netty Jetty” watching the people feed the fish in the river below. The brdige was built in the British times and linked Keamari with the city. People would come here and throw dough into the water to feed the fish for blessings. It was a ritual practised reguarly by some people. The Kites which soared over the city waiting to scavenge would descend and dive after the dough. Although Kites were birds of prey, they would eat anything. They would compete with the Gulls and Crows and even pirate food off them. They would most often eat the food on the wing, sometimes chased by others. They were magnificent flyers and to see them dive, swerve, chase with such agility as an experience. [/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]I did not enjoy the evenings staying in Keamari as there was not much to do there and I felt as if I was walled in. Some people had built very tall houses and flats, blocking the sunlight and creating a claustrophobic walled atmosphere.[/FONT][/SIZE]
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